Sunderland boss David Moyes has hailed the courage shown by his side in Saturday’s 1-1 draw against West Brom.

Moyes struggled to add quality to his ranks following his arrival as manager in July and has had to almost mix and match at times so far this season, leading to suggestions that this could be the year which they are finally relegated.

They have still to record a Premier League win this season but the signs have been good in recent weeks and they produced a decent performance in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with West Brom.

A key part of their display was the way in which they kept the ball and Moyes believes their excellent attitude could be the key to their survival hopes.

Moyes said: “We are lacking a bit of quality at the minute in certain areas, but the players tried to make up for it with their endeavour and their courage to try to play at times where we weren’t that good at it.

“But they showed a bit of courage to keep taking the ball because you have got to have a big set of you-know-whats sometimes to take the ball when you are not playing that well.”

The international break means Moyes now has some extra time to work with his players and punters may look to use their free bet to back the Black Cats to end their winless run when they face fellow strugglers Stoke on October 15.